Serbia men's national volleyball team facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Serbia

[[File:|180px|frameless|Flag]]
Nickname(s)	Orlovi (The Eagles)
Association	Volleyball Federation of Serbia
Confederation	CEV
Head coach	Igor Kolaković
FIVB ranking	6 (as of September 2014)
Uniforms
Home 　 Away
Summer Olympics
Appearances	6 (First in 1996)
Best result	(2000)
World Championship
Appearances	8 (First in 1998)
Best result	(1998)
FIVB World Cup
Appearances	2 (First in 2003)
Best result	(2003)
European Championship
Appearances	29 (First in 1951)
Best result	(2001, 2011, 2019)

The Serbia men's national volleyball team plays for Serbia in international men's volleyball games. The team is often called Orlovi, which means "The Eagles". The FIVB (International Volleyball Federation) and CEV see Serbia as the team that carries on the history of earlier teams like SFR Yugoslavia (1948–1991) and Serbia and Montenegro (1992–2006).

Serbia's team has won many important medals. They won a gold medal at the Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, in 2000. They also earned a bronze medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. The Yugoslav Olympic Committee and later the Olympic Committee of Serbia have named the national volleyball team the best male team of the year several times, including in 2000, 2010, and 2013.

Team History: How Volleyball Started in Serbia

One of the most exciting moments for Serbia's volleyball team was at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. Playing as Yugoslavia, they won the Olympic gold medal! Many people thought Italy would win, as they had won many world and European titles. However, Serbia & Montenegro (Yugoslavia) surprised everyone. They had finished third in their group but then beat Russia in the final to win the gold.

Volleyball first came to Serbia thanks to a professor named G. William Viland from Oakland, California. He visited Belgrade and Novi Sad in 1924 to show American sports. This is believed to be when volleyball began in the area. During World War II (1941-1944), volleyball became very popular. Many games were played, and sports clubs started their own volleyball sections.

The Serbian/Yugoslav Volleyball Federation was created in 1946. A year later, in 1947, the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) was founded, and Yugoslavia was one of the first 14 countries to join. In 1949, the Volleyball Federation became its own sports group. The women's team won a bronze medal at the European Championships in 1951. The men's team achieved the same success in 1975 when Serbia hosted the European Championship for the first time. The Serbian team won the bronze medal by beating Bulgaria in a thrilling final match in Belgrade.

Recent Success: 2011 to 2019

In 2011, Serbia became the European champion. Then, in 2016, they won the FIVB World League for the first time! Marko Ivović was named the best player (MVP) of that tournament, and Srećko Lisinac was chosen as the Best Middle Blocker.

More Wins: 2019 to 2021

After winning bronze medals in 2013 and 2017, Serbia became the European champion again in 2019. Uroš Kovačević was named the best player (MVP) of the tournament that year.

Major Competition Results

This section shows how the Serbian men's national volleyball team has performed in big international competitions.

Olympic Games

The Olympic Games are a huge event where countries compete for gold. Serbia has done very well here!      Champions       Runners up       Third place       Fourth place

Games	Round	Position	Pld	W	L	SF	SA	Squad
1964 to 1988	part of Yugoslavia
1992 Barcelona	suspended
1996 Atlanta	Semifinals	3rd	8	5	3	16	14	Squad
2000 Sydney	Final	1st	8	6	2	21	11	Squad
2004 Athens	Quarterfinals	5th	6	4	2	13	9	Squad
2008 Beijing	Quarterfinals	5th	6	2	4	11	13	Squad
2012 London	Preliminary round	9th	5	1	4	7	13	Squad
2016 Rio de Janeiro	did not qualify
2020 Tokyo
2024 Paris	Preliminary round	9th	3	1	2	5	8	Squad
Total	6/9	1 Title	36	19	17	73	68	—

World Championship

The World Championship is another top competition for national volleyball teams.      Champions       Runners up       Third place       Fourth place

Games	Round	Position	Pld	W	L	SF	SA	Squad
1949 to 1990	part of Yugoslavia
1994	suspended
1998	Final	2nd	12	10	2	31	10	Squad
2002	Semifinals	4th	9	7	2	22	8	Squad
2006	Semifinals	4th	11	8	3	26	13	Squad
2010	Semifinals	3rd	9	6	3	22	13	Squad
2014	Second round	9th	9	5	4	18	15	Squad
2018	Semifinals	4th	12	7	5	24	21	Squad
2022	Round of 16	9th place	4	3	1	9	3	Squad
2025	Qualified							Squad
Total	8/9	0 Title(s)	66	46	20	152	83	—

World Cup

The World Cup is a major international volleyball tournament.      Champions       Runners up       Third place       Fourth place

Year	Rank	Pld	W	L	SW	SL
1965 to 1991	part of Yugoslavia
1995	did not qualify
1999
2003	3rd place	11	9	2	29	10
2007	did not qualify
2011	8th place	11	5	6	20	23
2015	did not qualify
2019
Total	3/8	29	17	12	59	46

World Cup Squads

• 2003 Japan – Bronze medal

  The team included players like Marić, Janić, and N. Grbić (Captain). Their head coach was Travica.

World Grand Champions Cup

This is another important international volleyball competition.      Champions       Runners up       Third place       Fourth place

Year	Rank	Pld	W	L	SW	SL
1993	suspended
1997	did not qualify
2001	3rd place	5	3	2	9	7
2005	did not qualify
2009
2013
2017
Total	1/7	5	3	2	9	7

• 2001 – Bronze medal

  Key players included N. Grbić (Captain) and Miljković. The head coach was Gajić.

World League

The World League was an annual international volleyball competition.      Champions       Runners up       Third place       Fourth place

Year	Rank	Pld	W	L	SW	SL
1990	part of Yugoslavia
1991
1992	suspended
1993
1994
1995	did not enter
1996
1997	7th place	12	8	4	29	15
1998	6th place	14	4	10	23	32
1999	withdrew
2000	4th place	18	12	6	43	26
2001	4th place	17	11	6	39	23
2002	3rd place	17	11	6	42	24
2003	2nd place	17	12	5	44	24
2004	3rd place	15	11	4	37	20
2005	2nd place	15	8	7	31	31
2006	5th place	15	10	5	32	26
2007	9th place	12	7	5	24	18
2008	2nd place	16	10	6	39	24
2009	2nd place	16	11	5	38	25
2010	3rd place	16	11	5	40	26
2011	9th place	12	7	5	26	21
2012	9th place	12	6	6	27	24
2013	8th place	10	5	5	22	22
2014	7th place	12	7	5	24	20
2015	2nd place	16	9	7	38	32
2016	1st place	13	10	3	34	17
2017	5th place	11	6	5	24	20
Total	21/28	286	176	110	656	470

World League Squads

Nations League

The Nations League is a newer annual international volleyball competition.

Year	Rank	GP	MW	ML	SW	SL	PW	PL	Squad
2018	5th place	17	11	6	33	30	1404	1408	Squad
2019	11th place	15	6	9	28	36	1393	1417	Squad
2021	6th place	15	10	5	35	27	1419	1341	Squad
2022	11th place	12	5	7	19	27	1010	1043	Squad
2023	9th place	12	6	6	23	23	1045	1056	Squad
2024	10th place	12	5	7	23	26	1051	1094	Squad
Total	6/6	83	42	40	161	169	7322	7359	—

European Championship

The European Championship is the main volleyball competition for European national teams.      Champions       Runners up       Third place       Fourth place

Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	L	SW	SL
1948 to 1991	part of Yugoslavia
1993	suspended
1995	Semifinals		7	5	2	16	7
1997	Final		7	5	2	16	7
1999	Semifinals		5	3	2	11	8
2001	Final		7	6	1	20	6
2003	Semifinals	4th	7	4	3	17	11
2005	Semifinals		7	6	1	20	6
2007	Semifinals		8	5	3	18	13
2009	Second Round	5th	6	4	2	15	8
2011	Final		6	6	0	18	5
2013	Semifinals		7	5	2	17	9
2015	Quarterfinals	7th	5	3	2	11	10
2017	Semifinals		6	5	1	17	7
2019	Final		9	9	0	27	6
2021	Semifinals	4th	9	6	3	21	15
2023	Quarterfinals	6th	7	5	2	16	8
2026		Future event
Total	Qualified: 16/17		103	77	26	260	126

European Championship Squads

European Games

The European Games are a multi-sport event for athletes from European countries.

Year	Rank	Pld	W	L	SW	SL
2015 Baku	5th	6	2	4	11	9
2019 Minsk	volleyball tournament not held
2023 Kraków-Małopolska
Total	1/1	6	2	4	11	9

Mediterranean Games

The Mediterranean Games are a sports event for countries around the Mediterranean Sea.      Champions       Runners up       Third place       Fourth place

Year	Rank	Pld	W	L	SW	SL
1993	suspended
1997	did not enter
2001	6th place	-	-	-	-	-
2005	3rd place	5	4	1	13	6
2009	did not enter
2013
2018
2022	9th place	3	0	3	2	9
2026	future event
Total	2/8	8	4	4	15	15

Team Information

Current Squad

Here is the team roster for the 2024 Summer Olympics. Head coach: Igor Kolaković

Coach History

The team has had several coaches over the years:

• Zoran Gajić (1995–2002)
• Veselin Vuković (2002–2003)
• Ljubomir Travica (2003–2006)
• Igor Kolaković (2006–2014)
• Nikola Grbić (2015–2019)
• Slobodan Kovač (2019–2021)
• Igor Kolaković (2022–present)

Notable Players

Many talented players have been part of the Serbian national volleyball team. Some of the most famous include:

• Ivan Miljković
• Nikola Grbić
• Andrija Gerić
• Slobodan Boškan
• Vladimir Grbić
• Slobodan Kovač
• Dejan Brđović
• Rajko Jokanović
• Goran Vujević
• Đula Mešter
• Vasa Mijić
• Žarko Petrović
• Igor Vušurović
• Bojan Janić
• Edin Škorić
• Veljko Petković
• Željko Tanasković

Team Gear and Sponsors

Kit Providers

The team's uniforms and gear have been provided by different companies:

Sponsorship

The team gets support from various sponsors. These include main sponsors like Poštanska štedionica. Other important sponsors are Škoda Auto, Radio Television of Serbia, Žurnal, Srbijagas, Posta, EPS, and Blic.

Images for kids

• 

  Serbia team in 2008 Olympic

• 

  Serbia fans in 2009 world league

• 

  Ivan Miljković, one of the most notable players

See also

In Spanish: Selección de voleibol de Serbia para niños

• Serbia women's national volleyball team
• Yugoslavia men's national volleyball team
• Yugoslavia women's national volleyball team